World Bank chief to visit Africa

President of the World Bank Group Robert B Zoellick is set to visit Africa next week to help encourage more financial support from donors and investors.

Funding urgently needed for the continent during the current economic crisis should help it to build important infrastructure needed in the energy, transport and irrigation sectors, he said.

The three-nation tour will see Mr Zoellick take trips to Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where investment opportunities remain - despite ongoing or recent conflict.

He explained big gains can be made if support is boosted for food security and agriculture "while improving rural incomes and facilitating post-harvest marketing, conservation and agricultural processing".

Earlier this week, the Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreement in the DRC was co-signed with Novacel, a Congolese company.

The BioCarbon Fund, administered by the World Bank, will purchase 500,000 carbon credits via this deal, from a scheme aimed at the reforestation of 4,200 hectares of land near Kinshasha.